While everyone was shocked by what happened in the Riverlands, their attention also turned to two small-scale battles.
One battle took place at the Green Fork River, where the belligerents were Daisy Mormont, the Countess of Bear Island from the North, and Stafford Lannister, Tywin Lannister's cousin and brother-in-law.
Before the battle, no one believed Stafford Lannister would lose, because at that time, Stafford Lannister led a vanguard of 30,000 men. These 30,000 men were the elites from various Western territories, and their goal was to completely wear down Robb's Northern Allied Forces on the Kings Road.
In contrast, Daisy Mormont only had 6,000 men. The numerical disparity was too great. Even though she was a famous general under Linde Terra and had achieved many merits, many people believed it was because of Lynd. Now that Daisy Mormont had left Summerhall, her actual combat strength was probably greatly reduced.
However, the final result stunned everyone: Daisy Mormont annihilated 30,000 Western troops with only a few hundred casualties, and fewer than 4,000 people ultimately escaped from the Green Fork River.
If the fleeing soldiers had not promptly burned the bridge over the Trident River, preventing Daisy Mormont's pursuit, it is likely that those 4,000 would also not have escaped death.
Moreover, if Daisy Mormont had crossed the Trident River, she could have taken advantage of Duke Tywin's unpreparedness at Harrenhal, and with the momentum of a great victory, led her remaining 5,000 cavalry south along the Kings Road to attack Harrenhal, which would have put Duke Tywin in a precarious position.
None of the several thousand survivors could explain how Daisy achieved victory, because at the time, they could only hear the screams of their comrades. The only thing they could do was flee until their legs gave out, and only then did they stop.
In this war, besides the loss of troops, the West also suffered heavy losses of generals and knights. First, the commander Stafford Lannister was killed immediately, and more than a dozen other Lannister family members, as well as some lords and knights from different territories, also died in battle.
Among the more than 3,000 survivors, the highest-ranking was Stafford's son, Davos Lannister. It was he who promptly burned the bridge and quickly reorganized the remaining routed troops, confronting Daisy across the Trident River, preventing Daisy from swimming across the river.
This crushing defeat undoubtedly lost Duke Tywin most of the advantage he had gained from sweeping through the Riverlands earlier. However, no one dared to underestimate Duke Tywin, because the 30,000 lost troops were mostly from various Western territories, and the direct Lannister family troops did not suffer many losses. The army garrisoned at Harrenhal alone numbered 100,000, and over 50,000 troops were besieging Riverrun. In addition, nearly 5,000 mercenaries from Essos had already departed from Lannisport and entered the Riverlands to assist Duke Tywin in defending the Riverlands.
Just as many people were rejoicing over the Western Allied Forces' crushing defeat, news from the Valley shocked everyone and once again instilled awe for Duke Tywin.
Because overnight, Blood Gate in the Valley changed hands, and the new commander of Blood Gate, who replaced Brandon Riverrun, along with his knights and army, were completely wiped out.
No one yet knew how Blood Gate was breached, nor why none of the several thousand people guarding Blood Gate escaped after it was breached. The only thing everyone could know was the consequence of Blood Gate changing hands: the entire Valley was exposed to the Western army, and except for castles built in strategic locations like Eyrie, other territories had no natural defenses.
However, Kevan Lannister, who captured Blood Gate, did not continue to attack the Valley, possibly due to Daisy Mormont. He only left a portion of his troops to guard Blood Gate, and he led the rest of his army to the vicinity of the Trident River mouth, building defensive fortifications step by step, giving Daisy Mormont's cavalry no opportunity for a surprise attack. At the same time, he joined forces with Davos Lannister across the river to sandwich Daisy Mormont's army, forcing Daisy's army to retreat to a relatively safe area.
After learning that Kevan had led the majority of his army away from Blood Gate, the Valley also attempted to retake Blood Gate, but they were powerless because the Savage Tribes of the Moon Mountains suddenly invaded the Valley on a large scale, burning, killing, and plundering, completely tying down the Valley lords' armies within their own territories.
Careful observers quickly noticed that the weapons and armor wielded by these Savage Tribes were of excellent quality, with a strong Western style, clearly indicating that the Lannister family was manipulating these Savage Tribes.
With the loss at the Green Fork River, the capture of Blood Gate, and the Valley being tied down by the Savage Tribes and unable to deploy troops externally, the Western Allied Forces, which had initially shown signs of decline, recovered their strength.
From Daisy Mormont, Duke Tywin sensed that the Northern Allied Forces might become a variable.
So he immediately took his reorganized army and rushed towards Riverrun along the Riverlands Road, preparing to join forces with Jaime Lannister there to take Riverrun and completely defeat the Riverlands' defending forces, giving the Northern Allied Forces no chance.
However, what no one expected was that when Duke Tywin's army arrived at Duskendale, news came from the west: Robb Stark's Northern Allied Forces had launched a surprise attack on the Western army at Riverrun, and the Western army suffered a crushing defeat, losing nearly half its strength.
Jaime Lannister, who commanded the Western army, went missing on the battlefield, and his fate was grim.
The remaining army, under the command of Ser Fowler Prester, completely abandoned all previously occupied lands and retreated to Golden Tooth for defense.
Furthermore, during the retreat of the remnants, the free knight companies hired by Tywin from Tyrosh all betrayed the Western Allied Forces and surrendered to the pursuing Robb Stark.
And Robb also adopted Davos Lannister's tactic, burning the bridges over the Red Fork, blocking the Western army on the other side of the river.
The Riverlands lords besieged in Riverrun also began to reclaim their territories east of the Red Fork, and continuously moved south along the river. In just a few days, they recovered all territories between the Red Fork and the Tumblestone River.
This major war in the Riverlands was temporarily concluded, as neither side had the ability to fight across the river and needed to rebuild bridges. The war could only be maintained in its current state.
However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Duke Tywin's situation was not good, as he was now firmly trapped in the Riverlands, unable to move, neither north nor south. Moreover, Edmure Tully, the heir to Riverrun whom he had captured, was also lost during Robb Stark's surprise attack, depriving him of an important bargaining chip.
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